Abstract
Kurt Lewin (1948) famously observed, “there is nothing so practical as a good theory.” This simple statement captures a truism regarding the interplay of understanding, prediction, and control that characterizes every area of science. Predicting how a phenomenon will be manifest under different conditions, let alone controlling the process, is intimately linked to a coherent and generalized understanding of the phenomenon at issue. Humans, after all, did not land on the moon or send satellites to other planets by focusing on how to do these things. Space exploration would have remained a flight of fancy had it not been for several centuries of scientific concern with basic principles of physics and chemistry. This realization is relevant to the understandable concern people have for resolving the difficult and protracted conflicts that characterize interpersonal, inter-group, and international relations in today’s world. Practitioners are motivated to tackle such conflicts head-on, but their likelihood of success is ultimately constrained by the degree of scientific understanding concerning far more basic and mundane aspects of psychology.
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Vallacher, R.R. et al. (2013). Escape: How Conflicts Can Be Transformed. In: Attracted to Conflict: Dynamic Foundations of Destructive Social Relations. Peace Psychology Book Series. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35280-5_6
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